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Alex Michaelides

The Maidens: The instant Sunday Times bestseller from the author of The Silent Patient Paperback – 26 May 2022

by Alex Michaelides (Author)

16,988 ratings

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We all keep secrets. Even from ourselves.

'A thrilling, heart-in-throat ride' STEPHEN FRY
'An absolute jaw-dropper' LUCY FOLEY
'Elegant, sinister, stylish' CHRIS WHITAKER
'Grips from start to finish' HARRIET TYCE

* * * * *

YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN THE MAIDENS.

The Maidens are Cambridge University's most exclusive society, whose members are selected by the charismatic professor of Greek tragedy, Edward Fosca.

A SECRETIVE SET OF THE BRIGHTEST, MOST CAPTIVATING STUDENTS.

When one of the Maidens is murdered, grieving young therapist Mariana Andros is drawn back to the idyllic campus where she was once herself a student.

THE GROUP FROM WHICH EACH VICTIM WILL BE CHOSEN.

Because beneath the university's ancient traditions and beauty is a web of secrets, jealousy and lies. And when the killer threatens the person she loves most, Mariana will give anything to stop them - even her own life...

From the #1 global bestselling author of The Silent Patient comes a spellbinding tale of psychological suspense, weaving together Greek mythology, murder, and obsession...

* * * * *

'There's definitely a flavour of The Secret History to Alex Michaelides's second novel ... The Maidens is a compelling read, and delivers its Hellenic thrills in style.' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

'A book which screams 'make me into a TV series' ... his writing, especially his characterisation, possesses a unique sparkle and more promise than most other writers.' DAILY MAIL

'Nothing short of genius.' WOMAN & HOME

'How do you go about following one of the biggest thrillers of the past decade? You write something even better.' CHRIS WHITAKER, bestselling author of WE BEGIN AT THE END

'Grips from intriguing start to horrifying finish ... A brilliant achievement.'
HARRIET TYCE

'A page-turner of the first order'
DAVID BALDACCI

'The greatest campus novel since The Secret History by Donna Tartt ... with a climatic twist that you will NEVER see coming.'
TONY PARSONS

'A stunning psychological thriller ... Michaelides is on a roll.'
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Print length

368 pages
Language

English
Publisher

W&N
Publication date

26 May 2022
Dimensions

12.8 x 2.6 x 19.6 cm
ISBN-10

1409181685
ISBN-13

978-1409181682
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Review

Elegant, sinister, stylish and thrilling, The Maidens answers the weighty question, how do you go about following one of the biggest thrillers of the past decade? You write something even better. ― CHRIS WHITAKER

Alex has achieved the almost impossible and surpassed The Silent Patient in this compelling literary thriller, which grips from intriguing start to horrifying finish ... A brilliant achievement. ― HARRIET TYCE

What a thrilling, heart in throat ride. A great triumph. ― STEPHEN FRY

A deliciously dark, elegant, utterly compulsive read - with a twist that blew my mind. I loved this even more than I loved The Silent Patient and that's saying something! ― LUCY FOLEY

Alex Michaelides hits a home run in his sophomore effort. The Maidens is a page-turner of the first order. ― DAVID BALDACCI

A stunning psychological thriller ... The intelligent, cerebral plot finds contemporary parallels in Euripides's tragedies, Jacobean dramas such as The Duchess of Malfi, and Tennyson's poetry. The devastating ending shows just how little the troubled Mariana knows about the human psyche or herself. Michaelides is on a roll. ― Publishers Weekly

The greatest campus novel since The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Packed to the dreaming spires with mystery, murder, emotion and a yearning, heart-aching nostalgia for all that we leave in the past - places, lovers and ourselves when we were young. The millions who loved The Silent Patient will be delighted to hear that Alex Michaelides once again mugs you with a climatic twist that you will NEVER see coming. ― TONY PARSONS

Michaelides' stage-setting skills are as masterful here, as they were in The Silent Patient - another tense, cleverly twisted winner. ― Booklist

Nothing short of genius. ― Woman&Home

[Michaelides'] writing, especially his characterisation, possesses a unique sparkle and more promise than most other writers. ― Daily Mail

The Maidens is a compelling read, and delivers its Hellenic thrills in style. ― Sunday Telegraph

Stylishly written with a great sense of place, bestselling author Michaelides' second novel is a compelling and complex psychological thriller of the highest order. ― Irish Independent

A thriller that deftly weaves psychology, murder and an understanding of Greek mythology - where do we sign up? ― Belfast Telegraph

This atmospheric mystery speeds along at such a pace, Michaelides' genius for storytelling is clear. ― Woman

Michaelides is a stylish writer who seamlessly weaves Greek mythology, psychology and murder into his writing and this atmospheric thriller keeps you guessing till the end.

― Independent

It's a tense, original story set against the luscious backdrop of the ancient university.

― Daily Mail, Summer roundup

The Maidens ticks a lot of boxes, particularly if you like a good thriller. It has a fast pace, lots of misdirection, and intriguing backstory and a damaged protagonist. ― Sunday Life

Tautly plotted and impeccably paced , it's an intelligent and propulsive second novel.

― The Observer

When Alex Michaelides' first psychological thriller, The Silent Patient, debuted in 2019, it skyrocketed to the top of best-seller lists. His follow-up is just as twisty-and involves another suspicious killing.

― Time Magazine, European edition

Book Description

The highly anticipated new thriller from the record-breaking, international bestselling author of THE SILENT PATIENT.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W&N; 1st edition (26 May 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1409181685
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1409181682
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.8 x 2.6 x 19.6 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 1,694 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 7 in Classical, Early & Medieval Poetry
- 7 in Mystical Poetry
- 22 in Occult Horror (Books)

Customer reviews:
16,988 ratings

About the author

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Alex Michaelides

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Alex Michaelides was born and raised in Cyprus. He has a MA in English Literature from Trinity College, Cambridge University, and a MA in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. The Silent Patient was his first novel. It spent over a year on the New York Times bestseller list and sold in a record-breaking 49 countries. He lives in London.

Customer reviews

5 star		36%
4 star		30%
3 star		23%
2 star		8%
1 star		4%

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Very disappointing. A run of the mill mystery hiding behind an intellectual façade.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 June 2021

Verified Purchase

Rating: 2.0/5

Having missed out on Alex Michaelide's debut novel, "The Silent Patient", which received overwhelmingly positive feedback, I was keen to make sure that I got my hands on a copy of his follow-up. Having read the accompanying synopsis my anticipation was only heightened further: A murder mystery set in the world of academia within the appealing environs of Cambridge University. In addition to murder, the plot was said to combine psychology and Greek mythology, as legendary tales from the time of ancient Greece seem to bear an uncanny resemblance to events taking place now. My appetite was suitably whetted ... but unfortunately it wasn't to be too long before severe disappointment set in.

Frustratingly, some sections are nicely written and quite prosaic. This, in combination with an appealing backdrop and an engaging premise, could and should have been a recipe for a successful story. Unfortunately, there are just too many elements that simply don't pass muster: The characterisation is simplistic and lacks any depth. Descriptive language tends towards the melodramatic. The dialogue is often stilted, clunky and unnatural. Some of the mechanics used to move the plot forward are convenient to the point of being inane and reminiscent of the kind of thing you might expect to find in a children's adventure story. The frequent references to Greek mythology are, no doubt, intended to give an impression of worthiness and of being profound, but it is little more than a veneer. Ultimately "The Maidens" is a run of the mill mystery hiding behind an intellectual façade.

In his notes the author states that this novel is his fond homage to the classic female crime writers: Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Margaret Millar, Margery Allingham, Josephine Tey, P.D. James and Ruth Rendell. A nice gesture perhaps, but those ladies really deserved something better than this.

34 people found this helpful

Helpful

Peliroja

Unbelievable tosh

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 July 2021

Verified Purchase

This has to be the stupidest story I've ever read. Absolutely stupid. I cannot believe I finished it, though I did scan the last 50 or so pages, once it became obvious who the perpetrator was. And trust me, you'd better clear away all your precious ornaments once you near discovering this as you will hurl the book across the room in total disgust. Absolutely stupid. I almost never give one star to a book I actually finish, but this deserved minus one star.

I mean. Mariana is an intelligent woman. The way she goes for a Cambridge lecturer she's never met, based on hearsay - one comment made by the dead girl to Mariana's niece before she was murdered - is bizarre to say the least. Then we have Mariana agreeing to meet up with this lecturer in private several times and also meet up with a stranger/stalker she met on a train. The whole thing is just weird. She even attacks one of the above in public - it's completely laughable.

Mr Michaelides' writing is morose. There's no light and shade to it whatsoever. So it wasn't even fun reading up until the stupidest denouement in the entire bookshop. Oh, I can't be bothered to write any more. It doesn't deserve another minute of my life.

31 people found this helpful

Helpful

R. White

It’s just not very good

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 June 2021

Verified Purchase

I really wanted to like this book. Having read ‘The Silent Patient’ which was an entertaining thriller, I was hoping this would be in the same vein. But it’s just not very good. The plot is ridiculous and the characters are so two dimensional that you find yourself scoffing at the wooden dialogue. Any references in the plot to therapy feel as though they’ve been lifted directly out of a text book. What most annoyed me was one of the reviews which compared it to ‘The Secret History’ - this is a long long way from being anywhere near as good as Donna Tartt’s writing. Most disappointing.

29 people found this helpful

Helpful

Hilary Scannell

Absurd and perfunctory

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 June 2021

Verified Purchase

A hackneyed and silly plot, sloppily written. Clearly rushed out under pressure and I get the feeling even the author was bored and couldn’t be bothered to take the time needed to wrap it up.

25 people found this helpful

Helpful

book lover

Was glad it came to an end

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 June 2021

Verified Purchase

The only thing I like about it was the interwoven bit about the silent patient characters otherwise I wouldn’t recommend it

16 people found this helpful

Helpful

David Oakley

It’s alright.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 July 2021

Verified Purchase

It was alright. I purchased this on the strength of a lot of reviews. One review compared it to The Secret History. If you’re looking for that don’t bother. It doesn’t come close. If that is your bag try Once Were Villains. But I guess that’s harsh. I don’t think this book is trying to be The Secret History, it’s a good read, well written and a good pace. I just didn’t really build a connection with any of the characters, they felt a bit flat, a tad one dimensional. I just didn’t feel that involved. For me it was like a fairly decent episode of Morse. But what do I know? Make your own mind up. As I said earlier, it’s alright.

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

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The Maidens: The instant Sunday Times bestseller from the author of The Silent Patient Paperback – 26 May 2022

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We all keep secrets. Even from ourselves.

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Alex Michaelides

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